M. A. HART POOLE BAY CHALLENGE CUP 2017/2018

Sponsored by POOLE BAY ESTATES

All Hayward League Clubs shall enter the relevanty Cup Competition for which they are qualified under the rules. Clubs with more than one team who qualify for the same competition may enter a second team if they wish.

The rules of the BHFL where applicable shall apply in all cases not covered by Cup Competitions Rules.

1. The entire control and management of the above competition shall be vested in the Management Committee of the Bournemouth Hayward Football League.

2. The Cup to be played for under the Rules of the Football Association shall be called the M. A. Hart Poole Bay Challenge Cup and shall not become the property of any one Club.

3. This Competition shall be open to teams in the Premier Division of the Saturday Hayward Football League on payment of the entry fee of £40.00 which shall be paid on or before the Annual General Meeting in each year.

4. Each Club desiring to compete shall give notice, in writing, to the Secretary of the BHFL, on or before the 14th May. The Management Committee shall have power to group the competing Clubs for purposes of the draw, or exempt any Club or Clubs from taking part in earlier rounds.

5. a) All Players must be recognised members of their respective club and be duly signed and registered seven days before the scheduled date of any Cup Match. (No player may be signed on and play on the day of a cup match). A bona-fide player is one who has signed a form for his Club on a recognised League Registration form and duly registered by that league’s registration secretary. Therefore Registration must be received in the BDFA Office seven clear days prior to the date set for playing the fixture. No individual shall be allowed to play for more than one competing Team, and a player shall not be permitted to play in the final tie unless he has previously played for his Club during the current season in a match under the jurisdiction of the BDFA or BHFL.

b) A player, who, has appeared in the F.A. Cup, F. A. Trophy, F. A. Vase, or any Saturday County Senior Cup is not eligible to play in the M. A. Hart Poole Bay Cup. No Club shall be permitted to include more than three players at any one time who have played more than five games in the Wessex League Premier Division or Division One, Dorset Premier League or Hampshire Premier League in the Saturday Competition.

c) No transfers will be allowed. Provided he is otherwise eligible, a player who has been suspended may play in any rearranged Cup-Tie, if the term of his suspension has expired. Three Substitutes from Five may be used in any match in this Competition provided they are named to the Referee no later than five minutes before the officially nominated time of kick-off.

6. Unless otherwise mutually arranged, the Clubs first drawn in each ballot shall have the choice of ground unless the Precedence List applies when the fixture shall be reversed. In the case of a tie being abandoned at the end of 90 minutes or during extra time through no fault of either Club, the choice of ground shall be reversed. If the ground should be unsuitable for a Cup match their opponents may, on depositing a sum of £25.00 with the Secretary of the League (which may be forfeited at the option of the Management Committee should they consider the objection trivial), appeal to the Management, who may, order the match to be played on a neutral ground. Such appeal is to be made within seven days of the draw being made. The Secretary shall arrange the Semi-Finals on a neutral pitch and competing clubs shall share all expenses. The Club first drawn in all Rounds except the Final shall be responsible for making all payments and notification to officials and opponents, and shall present their opponents with a statement of payments made, half of which shall be reimbursed by their opponents. When a gate is taken at a Semi-Final tie the total receipts shall be offset against the match expenses. The remainder, (whether income or expense) shall be shared, equally, between the two competing teams. The cost of any Bournemouth Parks Pitch allocated by the Bournemouth Hayward Football League must be paid by return or by the due date shown on the invoice sent to clubs. Clubs in default shall be fined £25.00 and may also have their Fixtures Suspended and dealt with as the League Management Committee decides.

7.(a) Any objection relative to ground, goal posts, bar or other appurtenances of the game must be made to those responsible for the match half-an-hour before the time fixed for the kick-off. Any defect shall be remedied if it is possible without unduly delaying the game. Failing this the objection shall be made to the Referee prior to the start and cannot be withdrawn without the consent of the Management. All other protests or appeals must be intimated to the Referee at the time the violation takes place with full particulars. Each of the above conditions must be lodged with the Secretary of the League, in writing, within four days thereafter accompanied by a deposit of £25.00 which may be retained or otherwise as the Management Committee direct.

(b) Protests regarding the eligibility of players must be lodged with the Secretary of the League in writing within five days, accompanied by a deposit of £25.00, which may be retained or otherwise as the Management Committee direct. Where a protest is sustained or in the absence of a Protest, the Management Committee subsequently discover that any Rule has, in their opinion, been violated by mutual arrangement by two clubs or otherwise, it shall be in the power of the Management Committee to disqualify one or both teams from further competing in the competition, or order the match or matches to be replayed. In the case of a frivolous protest the Management Committee may impose such further penalties as may be warranted by the circumstances reported. In the event of a Club being removed from a competition after winning the Final Tie, the Management Committee may award the trophy and player awards to the beaten finalists. The Management Committee may also withold the trophy and player awards for the beaten finalists if removed from the competition or found to have broken the rules.

(c) (i) A Club playing an unregistered player or otherwise ineligible player and subsequently found guilty of the offence shall be fined a sum not exceeding £65.00 per player. The Management Committee may take further action against the Club and /or player as it may decide.

(ii) In addition a team having played an unregistered or otherwise ineligible player and having been found guilty of such (if having won the match in question) be removed from the Competition and the Mangement Committee shall have the power (but not to go back more than one round) to reinstate the beaten opponents or award a bye to the team they were due to meet in the foolowing round (except the final).

(iii) In the event of both teams being in breech of this rule, both will be removed from the Competition and further dealt with as in Rule 7(c).

8. A Club not fulfilling any fixture on the scheduled day shall incur a fine of not less than £26.00 and be removed from the Competition and may have to pay expenses incurred by their opponents. For the purpose of this rule, inability to field a complete team shall not in any circumstances be deemed a satisfactory explanation. All Clubs shall observe the order of precedence outlined in BHFL Rule 10F when competing in Cup matches. A Club withdrawing from the Competition shall be liable to a fine of not less than £26.00 and not exceeding £52.00.

9. The Ties shall be drawn by not less than three Members of the Cup Committee and an independent adjudicator and the Competition matches shall be played on the dates fixed by the League Secretary (subject to the Precedence List). In all Ties, including the Final, which result in a draw after 90 minutes, extra-time of 30 minutes (15 minutes each way) may be played. If at the end of extra-time the scores are still level, the match shall be decided by penalties as laid down in the HFA Ltd Handbook. The home Club shall mark out the ground and provide two, fit for play, Mitre Monde minimum or equivalent standard footballs and dressing rooms. In the Final Tie the match shall be played on a ground selected by the League Management Committee who will make all arrangements. When two teams play in the same or similar colours, the visiting team shall make some distinctive change, unless otherwise mutually agreed, but in the Final Tie both teams shall change. All members and ticket holders shall pay admission charges to the ground and stand.

10. In the event of any Club failing to play their Tie on the appointed date, they shall be expelled from the Competition, unless sufficient reason is given to the League Management Committee for an extension of time.

11. The dimensions of the field of play shall not be more than 130 yards long by 100 yards wide, or less than 100 yards long or 50 yards wide. The home team shall mark out the field of play in accordance with the Laws of the Game. Goal nets must be used in every match.

12. Particulars of each match, including a list of participating players (starting eleven and substitutes), goal scorers, the mark awarded to the Referee (out of 100), and any other information required by the competition shall be entered by the Club nominee in the appropriate place on the Fulltime website within one day of completion of the match. Failure to do so will incur a fine of £15.00 and/or the Club being dealt with as the League Management Committee decide. Any Club playing in a BHFL Cup whether HOME or AWAY and where scheduled games are not played for whatever reason shall enter the relevant details on the fulltime website by the scheduled time.

13. The Winners of the Competition shall be presented with the Challenge Cup, which shall be held by that Club for the current season and in addition to the Cup the League shall provide fourteen suitable Awards for presentation to the competition winners and losing finalists. When a player taking part in the final tie of a Competition is ordered to leave the field of play for misconduct, the medal to which he would be entitled may be withheld at the discretion of the League Management Committee. The League shall insure the Cup, and arrange for it to be engraved with the winners name and year, the cost of which shall be paid for by the winning Club. The Cup shall be returned in its box and in good condition to the Association Office on or before 8th February the following year. A fine of £26.00 plus £3.00 per additional day that it is overdue will be imposed in cases of default. Two extra medals, paid for by the Clubs, shall be presented to unused substitutes after the match. Further medals may be sanctioned by the Cup Committee and ordered and paid for by the Clubs subject to Hampshire FA approval.

14. The League Management Committee shall have the power to reinstate any team whose opponents have infringed the Rules of the Competition. All questions of eligibility, qualification of competitors, as well as other matters of dispute, shall be left to the Management Committee, whose ruling shall be final. Should either of the Clubs in connection with any dispute as to Cup Ties have a member on the Management Committee, the said representative shall not be eligible to vote on any motion connected with the protest.

15. Both teams must hand a correct team sheet of participating players and substitutes, supplied by the League at current cost, to the match official five minutes prior to the official kick off time. The players names entered against the numbers on the team sheet must correspond with the shirt numbers they wear during the game. Failure to comply may result in the teams being fined a sum of not less than £19.00. Any team failing to be available to kick off at the official time may be fined a sum of not less than £20.00 failing a satisfactory explanation within seven days of the offence. Prior to commencement of the match the Referee shall inform the Captain or another responsible official of a Club that he intends to report a late start. Unless otherwise approved by the League Secretary, times of kick-off in all Ties shall be: Sept, Oct, Feb, Mar, Apr: 2.00pm. Nov, Dec, Jan: 1:45pm

16. In the Final Tie, after charges for the Ground, Referee and Assistant Referees expenses, Police, Stewards, Travelling Expenses, Gatekeepers, Advertising and Printing have been paid, the remainder is to be divided equally between the two participating Clubs.

17. The Referee, for all Ties, except the Final, shall be appointed by the HFA (Bournemouth Division) Referees’ Committee. For all Cup Finals the Referees’ Appointment Secretaries shall select and nominate Referees and Assistant Referees to the BHFL Cup Committee for approval. All appointed match officials in Competitions under the jurisdiction of HFA must wear uniforms comprising of plain black shirts with white collars, black shorts and socks shall be black or black with white top.

Subject to any limits/provisions laid down by the sanctioning Association Match Officials appointed under this Rule shall be paid a match fee of :- Referee £20, Assistant Referee £13, and travel expenses of 30p per mile.